Mitch Lj

Mitch Lj is Michel Saurin
 Mitch is from France

He is a French DJ, and a successful one at that
In New York, Mitch can be found at Kiss and Fly or at Gansevoort's  Provocateur
Mitch speaks French, English, Portuguese, and a little Spanish right?   

What is your definition of being a DJ? "When I work I don't feel like I'm working. It's like playing music for me. I'm on my computer creating something. For me it's like I'm sharing my energy."

What type of music do you play? "House music."

What does that mean? "Okay, House started from putting a beat on the disco, by putting percussion on the actual beat....And there's so many different kinds of house music.You can go from deep house,  very instrumental, very jazzy, that's where I started. I don't know if I told you my background?"

Let's hear it: "I come from jazz. I was drumming, I was playing piano. I played four years of piano, and meanwhile I started the saxophone for two years,  and I did the jazz drumming for 15 years...Then, completely randomly I've been attracted, I mean not really attracted, but I was needing some money when I finished my studies in France. (I was 23 when I finished business school. That's not in my field, but anyway I graduated. I did it.) Then I just focused on what I really like to do. Music....... But I didn't have any plans and the South of France there's like a few big clubs and that's it. And to live really well doing jazz and the stuff I was doing, it was not easy. So just to get some money I was drumming in clubs, like getting my percussions, my drums, and going in this club and playing with DJs, like special shows and stuff like that. I liked that. I really liked what I was doing and that's where I got fully into house music."

"The DJ that was playing there in this big club in the South of France, (Ponor is the name of the town, where there's really good wine also.) was playing this type of melodic stuff, really instrumental, and really like jazzy house music. And I ask him, ok explain me how to mix, and let me begin the party for you...That's how I got the virus. And then I started buying lots of music and lots of vinyls, because it was in vinyls at the time."

Did you do anything else during that beginning period other than the drums? "I was also, what's the name in English? A kid rescuer? A life guard on the beach. (Wha? That's shamazing!) Actually, it was funny because I was a life guard on the beach by day and by night I was playing percussion in the club just right next to the beach. It was a 100 meters away. I was going in and out, in and out. I was sleeping like three hours those nights."

"Then after that I moved to Switzerland to make a season there. I didn't know what to do after I graduated and stuff so I went there." Is there good musical energy there? "Also, but you get more money there. And I had some opportunity to work there, so I went. I did a season there, and then I went back for a year and I worked in a ski station.You have to start some where. It was good cuz I was snowboarding. So, I was snowboarding by day and playing the club by night. I was always mixing the two pleasures."

"Then after that I came back to the South of France for the summer, and I started again to mix, but I was in San Copain. San Copain is really like the platform where there's all these clients. And you can make these contacts for business to pump up, especially as a DJ. So I stayed for six years, six seasons, every summer. Then I was traveling and playing here and there and having my own contacts and parties I started to travel and be really demanding because my music was not bad. Then after awhile I worked almost everywhere in like the biggest clubs in Europe, like ah North South, like Spain, Russia everywhere, London everywhere. And I also have this market in South America, in Brazil. Brazil that I love. My name is well known there, bigger than here in the USA actually." 

Where in Brazil? "Everywhere in Brazil. I started in Sao Paulo. Then I went to more famous places, like very fancy on the summer, like in Florianopolis, and Curichiba. Rio I don't like that much cuz the night life isn't really that great there. I mean the city is amazing, it's beautiful, but energy wise, like music wise, no, no, not the best, for house. I'm saying for house, I love house."

Do you ever get nervous on stage? "Not at all." Then...... "I'm used to it now. The first time you get there, you're a little bit nervous. It's like you have no mistakes, no mistakes. You can't fail, you cannot fail, no way, no way. But ah, that's what I do, that's what I love to do."

What made you come to the US? "I was going back and forth,  back and forth. Then I said, you know what? You have this field, this market, you can open also in America. And there, if you work there, you're gonna work everywhere because America is a (He did the universal gesture for strong, puffing up the arms.) well country and so.  So I decided to move everything, I just took my life and came here just with nothing. I got a visa, I got myself. I arrange everything. It was a mess. Yeah, it was really hard to get that. But I had a lot of press in Europe, so I could have it. And that's it so I came here and I started working for Kiss and Fly as a specialist for one year."

How did you get Kiss and Fly? "They contacted me. I never really contacted anyone. So no agents pulling for your cause? "Yeah also, I have three different agents.  One in the United States now that I signed with someone, William Morris. For South America I have another agency, the biggest also. And I'm working with one exclusive agent who is for Europe. It's organization. You have to...."

Onto France...Where in France are you from? "I come from a small small village from the South of France. I give you the name but you won't even know that." No tell me, I wanna know. "Okay I come form Sollies-Pont. And you know what we are known from there?" What? "For the cherries and the figs. Fig trees, we have a lot a lot, and we export a lot through all the world. That's what we do. But it's beautiful, you know it's like a little, very small town, beautiful. We also have a lot of vines around, a lot of wine around. And it's like chill."

Do you miss it? "I miss the vibe there, but I go like every summer one month to see my mom. She's living there." 

Okay so how do you feel about New York? "New York is the American dream. When you want something and you go for it here...You get one chance and you don't miss your chance you can go really high. And if you have some talent that's gonna really push you really high. Also you can get really low. So don't miss your chance. That's what I say about New York."

Do you like New York? "I love New York. The city itself? Yeah, it's all about the energy. It's all about the movement. And it's all about strategy, here." Whatcha mean? "Well, in my world, in what I'm involved in here, there's a lot of competition. But when you do everything with love and passion, if you really want it and you're good at what you do you're going to do well. And anyway when you have a strategy, when I say that is like you can be good, you can be the best DJ, or the most beautiful and talented artists in the world. If you don't have exposure, or when people don't know you,  don't see you, you're gonna disappear. So what you do is strategize. That's what I do. That's why I have the best agents. That's why I waited to have this one also. And that's it."

How did you learn this?  "I just feel it. I donno, I just feel where to go and I smell where it smells good for me...I don't know how to say that. You know when you don't feel good in a place or you don't feel good with someone and stuff?"

Any other projects? "In new York when I'm not working, spinning, I'm in the studio everyday every night. I remix, I produce originals, I work with different labels."

So with all this wonderful...Are ya happy? "Ah I'm very happy. I cannot be more independent, because I do everything by myself. I'm very proud of it. Ah, but there is this thing that. Okay, I think that every artist that's being successful and stuff like that, you have no life, in a way that you're always moving. That means that you're seeing people that you know some times from here and there, and here and there, but you don't have a certain circle of friends. I got a few close friends that I know from Europe, I also got close friends back home. But, in everyday, you're gonna interact with some people that you know from last time you came here and there. So I have good friends all over the world,  but that's not the point. There's not really someone that you could...Someone very close? No."

Are you lying about any of this? "No."

If you've heard: 'Love Will Find A Way,' 'Summer Rain, 'Brooklyn Symphony,' 'Love Shine,' 'The Barber,' 'One People,' 'Set You Free,' or 'Reunion,' you have heard Mitch.